VAMPIRES-R-US: Slow to start, this is a “Black Bluff” Vampire-Theme deck; while it initially looks like a fast aggressive black deck it actually a defensive, indirect deck, that gets aggressive later on. You only need 5 mana for everything, including the combos, generally, and you can get by on 4 most of the time.

The General idea is: you play defensive, discarding expensive baddies off the Hounds (unless you Warrior them) to get opponent nervous about attacking (No Mercy helps), holding onto your instants and creature enchants to “bluff” (are they creatures?) –attacking sometimes if it’s safe, when you DO have a creature in hand. Keep your opponent nervous, worried and guessing until you can Victimize (try it on a token!) two big discarded baddies!

Try and keep your blockers as long as possible (Hounds/Skyshroud/Soul), Combusting the board early to clear fast decks (don’t be afraid to kill off your own, the important stuff will survive- remember you can discard on a Hound to survive it)! On that note, Autocrat’s tokens work for ALL kinds of things not just Victimize and Intent –Sadistic Glee is a great distraction (lots of creatures leaving play on all sides) –just be careful on who you place it on as it will get them a LOT of attention: if the Watch/Frenzy/Lust combo hasn't ended the game, your back door might be a sneaky Hatred on a little unblocked Hound (with a 12/12+ flying trampler coming in, whose gonna care about a 2/2 hound when you have only 1 card in your hand?) -or even Hatred a little Acendant'd token =BOOM!

-Game over.

...

I pulled out the other lesser known or cheaper, smaller Sengir’s and Vampires- they pulled down the deck and didn’t offer as much, though it’s fun having the whole family present, including the Carriage (those tokens work great there if needed). Ghost Hounds was a fun test- and kept the theme, but didn't offer as much (plus they die too easy, and Eternal Warrior is more versatile where it's needed). Also the Collector is better than Krovikan or some of the other lesser known, vintage vampires (Crovax the Cursed could work in this deck) as you keep whatever you kill even if the Collector leaves play.

I’ve also pulled out the Fatal Blows and Terminates –they were too obvious and single target (but work great with a Whip!). However, playing just one Terminate  or even a Fatal Blow is scary for an opponent, especially if it's been whipped –not only do they lose their best creatures (and maybe you can take a major chunk of their life AND gain it while beefing up your baddies) but you have the potential of owning whomever it hits if a Collector is in play! If you want to try it, I recommend pulling the Frenzy/Lusts/Watch. However, I found the surprise Death Watch to have a better double-effect (you gain life while taking it) –keeping the theme. I left one though because while rare, it’s a combo an opponent won't soon forget!

Fast weenie and control/protection decks can still  present problems –you gotta keep things clear: use those Combustions if you get them or Evincar (who is a vampire though earlier edition prints don’t have this on the cards) and tapping to kill with Whips. Again, No Mercy helps here if you get it or can search it, but the deck might need more to drop down weenie creatures- Wall of Souls helps for non-fliers but...Hmm. We’ve got red and blue so maybe adding in something to counter or burn, but then what to remove? I really like the Destructive Urge + Wall of Souls combo, but it never comes out in time vs. something more direct (it’s a nice idea, so I’m keeping it on the sideboard).

Sideboard Notes:
Irini is in there to slow down weenie white/green; Grandmother Sengir maybe should be included in the main deck – she’s a creepy Sadistic, Gleeful, blood sucking viable carrier of a game-ending Hatred, especially if you take our her family -that is if the Death + Frenzy/Lust combo hasn’t taken down your opponent -she can be one nasty granny!!!

I put in some interesting blue/green cards + funky mana in the sideboard -Tangle would be quite unexpected, (and stick in your hand like all the instants that might be creatures waiting to be discarded). And who wants a Cloak of Mists on a 12/12+ flying trampler that gets bigger when it kills blockers? Fog or Constant Mists would also be in-theme, as well as Bloodstone Cameo. Many of you won't have Gaea's Cradles (I've got a bunch from when they were just easy to get, and I use them a lot); we don't really need any green mana (or blue) with the multi-mana sources; just pull them out and add mostly swamps and a mountain or two.

Try it out, let me know what you like or what works or doesn’t for you and what you might recommend or replace.

I’ve found the deck is a lot of fun to play, and the indirect bluffing and strategy is unexpected by most everyone -including me, so not only does it continue to be fun to play over time, but with its varied strategy and flexibility will often catch opponents rapidly by surprise with little way to fight back or stop it - just like a good vampire deck should.

-JP